“Experience is, for me, the highest authority.The touchstone of validity is my own experience. No other person’s ideas, and none of my own ideas, are as authoritative as my own experience.” (Carl Rogers 1961). What is a Teacher? I will be a teacher.Some would say that a teacher is one that facilitates learning in another. That implies that the receiver acquiring that knowledge is the most important part of that relationship since he/she is the one initially lacking in some knowledge. I agree.I will not be considering myself teaching; instead I will be facilitating the learning of knowledge. Student centered approach to Learning is the core of my learning philosophy.Although parents, teacher, classmates, and administration are all integral components of a child’s learning, it is really about that one child’s experience, that one lesson, that one learning opportunity for each student that is continuously occurring in the classroom. My goal is to bring that opportunity to each and every child in my classroom in each class lesson. It is not how I will teach that is important, rather it is about each child's opportunity to skills that will enable them to learn. I will model an approach to learning for each student based on self directed inquiry and intrisically motivated yearning to learn. Respect for oneself and others will be the example set and the behavior expected.Again, this is a student centered approach to the classroom learning environment which is needed to insure that all can benefit from each other’s existence in the classroom.It is not based on what I expect from each child; rather it is about what each child expects from him/herself. I believe in getting to know each and every student very well, so that I can fully understand what each child is bringing to share with the class, which by the way, every child has. I will share with all the concept of (Stop & Think) that I find is a key to learning.Learning requires what textbooks call metacognition. I call it Stop & Think about what you are experiencing. Students need to think about what is happening around them, as opposed to simply reacting to what is going on around them. This skill will be a great help in their fuure actions as adults.
What about being a Science Learning Facilitator (Teacher)? Since I consider myself a scientist, which is a frame of reference in explaining phenomena of the world around us , I will simply model the actions and behaviors defining that frame of reference in all my interactions with the students in the classroom.I will stress the need for each student to fine tune that concept of (Stop & Think) into (Stop & Think like a scientist).It is in this context that I will incorporate our state and national standards for science into the students’ way of thinking. Inquiry and explanations of observations will be the core to this scientific way of thinking.
Anything Else? Literacy is another key component to the experience of learning.Since much of a student’s self-directed learning will require the skill of reading, I will, with the help of fellow learning facilitators (reading teacher) model and build students’ literacy skills within the framework of reading and writing like a scientist. In incorporating the concept of acting like a scientist, I will stress the need of scientists to communicate to each other in the sharing of information. This sharing will require well developed reading and writing skills of everyone in order to facilitate that communication between individuals.
In summary, each student's experience in my classroom is an opportunity to learn something about the world around them. I will model the skill to (STOP & THINK) about each experience in order for students to learn someting about themselves and their place in society.
“Experience is, for me, the highest authority. The touchstone of validity is my own experience. No other person’s ideas, and none of my own ideas, are as authoritative as my own experience.” (Carl Rogers 1961).
What is a Teacher?
I will be a teacher. Some would say that a teacher is one that facilitates learning in another. That implies that the receiver acquiring that knowledge is the most important part of that relationship since he/she is the one initially lacking in some knowledge. I agree. I will not be considering myself teaching; instead I will be facilitating the learning of knowledge.
Student centered approach to Learning is the core of my learning philosophy. Although parents, teacher, classmates, and administration are all integral components of a child’s learning, it is really about that one child’s experience, that one lesson, that one learning opportunity for each student that is continuously occurring in the classroom. My goal is to bring that opportunity to each and every child in my classroom in each class lesson. It is not how I will teach that is important, rather it is about each child's opportunity to skills that will enable them to learn.
I will model an approach to learning for each student based on self directed inquiry and intrisically motivated yearning to learn. Respect for oneself and others will be the example set and the behavior expected. Again, this is a student centered approach to the classroom learning environment which is needed to insure that all can benefit from each other’s existence in the classroom. It is not based on what I expect from each child; rather it is about what each child expects from him/herself.
I believe in getting to know each and every student very well, so that I can fully understand what each child is bringing to share with the class, which by the way, every child has. I will share with all the concept of (Stop & Think) that I find is a key to learning. Learning requires what textbooks call metacognition. I call it Stop & Think about what you are experiencing. Students need to think about what is happening around them, as opposed to simply reacting to what is going on around them. This skill will be a great help in their fuure actions as adults.
What about being a Science Learning Facilitator (Teacher)?
Since I consider myself a scientist, which is a frame of reference in explaining phenomena of the world around us , I will simply model the actions and behaviors defining that frame of reference in all my interactions with the students in the classroom. I will stress the need for each student to fine tune that concept of (Stop & Think) into (Stop & Think like a scientist). It is in this context that I will incorporate our state and national standards for science into the students’ way of thinking. Inquiry and explanations of observations will be the core to this scientific way of thinking.
Anything Else?
Literacy is another key component to the experience of learning. Since much of a student’s self-directed learning will require the skill of reading, I will, with the help of fellow learning facilitators (reading teacher) model and build students’ literacy skills within the framework of reading and writing like a scientist. In incorporating the concept of acting like a scientist, I will stress the need of scientists to communicate to each other in the sharing of information. This sharing will require well developed reading and writing skills of everyone in order to facilitate that communication between individuals.
In summary, each student's experience in my classroom is an opportunity to learn something about the world around them. I will model the skill to (STOP & THINK) about each experience in order for students to learn someting about themselves and their place in society.